Yes, I’m back home…after being stranded in the Karoo because I had completely messed up our flight dates and we essentially missed our flight by 3 whole days (major oops) and I felt terrible about it! I’m feeling quite exhausted after coming home and catching up on work. It has me needing another holiday from my holiday. I will however do a round-up post because I have way too many photos on my phone (15 481 to be exact) & have been getting a lot of questions about my trip.

Have you ever been to a place and immediately want to go back? Yeah I’ve felt that way about Disneyworld since the moment I stepped into its magical world almost (coughs) 12 years ago. I’ve never quite experienced anything like that again until…stepping in the Cango wildlife ranch. If I’m honest I expected a normal park with the animals lying around in cages and us humans fawning over them. And no, none of that!

There are a few key things that make this place special

You’re immediately transported into a fantasy world with revolving doors, bridges that shake when you step over them and crocodiles that jump for their food. It is really a sensory experience, you’re not just looking at animals, you are experiencing them

The ranch allows you to wonder through on your own or you can join a tour every hour or so. We had Dougy as our tour guide and he was extremely entertaining! Incredibly knowledgeable and full of jokes (that sometimes went over most people’s heads) but he kept us on our toes.

What really stood out for me was how much interaction you have with the animals , you walk through rooms filled with bats the size of cats (excuse the word play) hanging over your head, the cutest animals casually walking by you and it’s the first place in the world to have crocodile cage diving! No, that’s not a typo.

Speaking of being interactive I had the opportunity of having one of those “am I really doing this right now” moments too. Feeling pretty close to the crocodiles already as I had had watched them jump (yes crocodiles can do this) to catch food out of Dougys hand, I thought we’d give the diving a miss and catch up with the big cats. My friend found it quite entertaining watching me stroke the cheetahs, I was flowing between sheer terror and absolute joy. Joy because this an absolute dream come true and terror because well, I am potential cheetah food.

And what I think sets it apart is the conservation of these animals, with state of the art facilities available and the staff who really do care. There is even a volunteer program where people from all across the globe volunteer to help out at the ranch, 5-star accommodation and all, don’t let Oudsthoorn fool you this place is world-class. I could not have been more impressed and had more fun! I’m even going to sponsor an animal and then get to name them; the only problem is the name…Queen B, Queens bae, Queenie? Yes, no, maybe?